This installment of Rapids player ratings come courtesy of Craig de Aragon, a longtime Rapids fan, committee member with the Class VI supporters group and current Rapids correspondent on the “Around The League” show on the Champions Soccer Radio Network:

There is something so quaint and whimsical about the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. With the makeshift playing fields, the one-camera webstream broadcast, and its junior varsity-level commentary, all that was missing was the sepia filter.

The Rapids were not in the daydreaming spirit, though, as things quickly turned from bad to nightmarish for the second-division Tampa Bay Rowdies as 33 minutes in they were already down 2 goals. Two late tallies, one for each side, and the Rapids were on to the 4th round, which MLS clubs have found hard to achieve in this upset-filled version of the U.S. Open Cup.